Related

EDMONTON — Free agent Patrick O'Sullivan will still be paid about $450,000 US this season and next, even if he doesn't play anywhere else in 2010-11 after the Edmonton Oilers bought out his contract earlier this summer.

However, the winger is better off than Ryan Potulny, Mike Comrie, Brendan Morrison, Marek Svatos, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jeff Halpern, Miroslav Satan and older forwards Bill Guerin and Owen Nolan, who are also looking for work these days, but aren't getting paid while they wait for the phone to ring. Indeed, these are tough times for free agents everywhere.

But has O'Sullivan's stock dropped so far that there's not one team that will give him $500,000? He's only 25. He has 149 points in 280 career NHL games.

Granted, he was dreadful last year with the Oilers, with fewer points (34) than his plus-minus rating of minus-35 -- worst in the NHL.

Although O' Sullivan showed an aversion to checking or skating industriously on quite a few nights last season, he still finished sixth in Oilers points in 2009-10 and his three game-winning goals tied Gilbert Brule for tops on the team.

Maybe last year was an anomaly. Fernando Pisani, O'Sullivan's former Oilers teammate, who is eight years older, received $500,000 from the best team in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks, last month.

But Pisani is a more reliable player. O'Sullivan has some fences to mend because of his uninspired play last season.

Ex-Oiler Potulny, on the other hand, is a solid American Hockey League scoring threat. He's as good as Chris Minard, who signed for $300,000 a season for two years to play on the Detroit Red Wings' Grand Rapids AHL farm club. But he probably isn't a top-six NHL forward.

Potulny isn't the role-player type: tough, great penalty-killer, smart checker either. But he can play in the league, even if nobody's banging down his door after he garnered 32 points last season.

"He'll get signed. We've got choices and are just waiting to make sure of the right depth situation," said Potulny's agent Neil Sheehy.

HALL PLAYS NUMBERS GAME

Top draft pick Taylor Hall skated with an army of other highly-rated players at a rookie showcase in Toronto on Wednesday wearing an Oilers jersey. But the jersey had no number, unlike the jerseys worn by Edmonton teammates Jordan Eberle (14) and Magnus Paajarvi (91).

"I get asked the question about once a day," Hall said of the jersey number query. "We'll have a press conference when it's decided, but it hasn't been yet."

An actual press conference might be a reach, but he wore No. 4 in junior. That's the number Kevin Lowe, president of hockey operations, wore when he played on the Oilers blue-line. It's up to Lowe to hand it over, if he so desires. The number hasn't been retired in Edmonton, but it's in mothballs.

Lowe is the only Oiler who has ever worn No. 4 in Edmonton. Mark Messier's 11 and Wayne Gretzky's 99 have also been untouchable.

Still unsigned, Guerin has been skating with some Flyers in Philadelphia, prompting stories of a camp invite. But the 40-year-old will likely wait through camps to see who needs somebody who can score 20 goals a season. Same with Owen Nolan, who's skating with the Sharks in San Jose, also unemployed.

QUENNEVILLE LIKES PISANI

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville gave Pisani a plug in the Daily Herald newspaper on Wednesday.

"I like his versatility, his experience, his competitiveness. He's got good leadership skills and, to me, he's reliable in a lot of ways. He's a really good fit for us," said Quenneville.

Pisani could be pencilled in as a third-line winger with Dave Bolland. The 33-year-old Pisani had some back spasms last week, while working out off-ice, something the Hawks aren't concerned about.

- Aaron Johnson's a good free-agent signing by the Nashville Predators as a depth defenceman at $550,000. He did a nice job here after the Oilers acquired him in the Steve Staios trade with the Calgary Flames. Johnson is a good skater and has some offensive pop. But the Oilers decided to bring back Jason Strudwick as a No. 6/No. 7 blue-liner because he's tougher, and for his leadership skills.

- Former Oilers farm coach Rob Daum is helping out at Perry Pearn's 3-on-3 pro camp in Edmonton, but doesn't have much going for a full-time job, with NHL camps opening in 2-1/2 weeks. He's sniffed around to see if anybody's hiring pro scouts, but all's quiet. He would definitely take a major junior coaching job.

- Breaking down the Oilers back-end of their forward depth chart, everybody forgets winger Ryan Jones, the ex-Predator who sprained his knee late last season on a Derek Boogaard hit. He has a one-way, $975,000 contract. That sounds like he's making the team, somewhere.

- Sam Gagner did well to get $2.275 million a year from the Oilers because second-line winger Devin Setoguchi, 23, got $1.8 million in a one-year deal in San Jose. He had 36 points last season, but 65 the year before.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.